Matt Zimmer

That was average. Full stop. But while the show is good, I will tolerate and even like average. It's only on bad shows that average episodes are a problem for me.

Let's talk about that a little. I love the idea that Homer is more impressed with the big cake when he learns there ISN'T a lady in it. And you know what? I kind of get that. Maybe I wouldn't find it sexy. But I don't find women in cakes all that sexy either.

I love the Mission Simpossible thing at the end. The show needs to do that kind of thing more. I usually object to the show taking after Family Guy, but its parodies of things like that are something that would actually be good for the show.

I don't know if the younger kids in the audience got this, but because they had Wallace Shawn voice the hernia, they did a blatant homage to "My Dinner With Andre", Shawn's most famous project. I haven't seen it yet, but from what I've heard, they had never made a movie like that before. And also from what I've heard, they've never made another movie like that since.

I like the tribute to Luke Perry, but to be honest, it's wasn't particularly heartwarming or meaningful because he only guest starred once. And yet, if he didn't get it I'd be ticked all the same. As far as tributes go it was perfunctory. But it would have been outright unacceptable not to do it.

I forgot that Jimbo was bald. Nobody would have blamed them for ignoring that specific continuity in the future from when they made that joke, but they remembered it anyways.

A couple of things in the episode bugged me and they both involved Shawna.

First off, I did not buy her role as the babysitter. People forget this, but the earlier seasons of the show, particularly the first, were focused on Bart instead of Homer. Once they found depth in Homer, he became the main character, but Bart was initially the focal point of the show. And when he was, the joke was that he was a holy terror on babysitters. It makes sense Shawna is the only babysitter the Simpsons could get. But she's the precise kind of girl Bart could drive off in his sleep if he thought she sucked (and he did here). It's weird they had Bart doing the horrendous bit with the straw with Homer because while they were acting like that bit of cruelty is in character for him (and despite latter season Jerk A-word Homer being a work of fiction on the internet, latter season Jerk A-word Bart IS an actual thing) they forgot one of the biggest appeals of Bart's anti-authoritarianism to the audience, particularly kids. I don't know of any kids who would root for Bart tormenting his injured father. But they would definitely love to see him torment his sucky babysitter. It's outright weird the show forgot to do that in the same episode as the questionable beer joke.

While I agree it's probably true that Lisa does not have many adult couples in her life who like each other, it's ridiculous she went to Jimbo and Shawna at all. They may openly like each other, but each is really bad and unhealthy for the other. If the show couldn't think of a better match than that, it probably shouldn't have bothered with the Lisa plot at all.

The show has done much worse, and I enjoyed tonight anyways. Since Bob's Burgers and Family Guy both underperformed tonight The Simpsons still wins the night. ***1/2.

Bob's Burgers "Roman Bob-iday"

As crazy and damaged as Mr Fischeoder is, when he looks at Bob like he's out of his mind for wanting to work, that's the correct reaction. The episode builds to the idea that Bob simply loves his job, but he literally spent two hours banging on a door. How was that productive? It's actually alarming. Although he's all right for a bread perv.

I loved the final jokes of the episode. The show is great because it knows how to close, and it also knows how to tell one rapid-fire joke after another. Like that the family used the bread to clean up the afterbirth, and Gene telling Bob he'd learn to love it. As insane as Bob is, you cannot deny this is funny. They know how to tell and land jokes properly. I''l give them that.

I don't like seeing Bob as obsessed about burgers as Hank Hill is about propane. Because I think Hank is crazy, stupid, and unlikable. He's a terrible husband and father. He is not the obsessive animated dad the show needs to be taking its cues from. While Bob's obsession with his restaurant is played as saner and healthier than Hank's propane, that doesn't mean much because Hank is a psychopath. In fact the only reason he is the sensible moral center on that show is because everyone else is far crazier, more evil, and stupider than he is. Which is a statement. I think Hank Hill is a nasty piece of work, and I don't like that this show is trying to make Bob's work habits like his. Bob is a good father. Bob is sensible. They are trying to turn the character into something he's not. What really gets me is that they are trying to turn him into a worse character than he could ever be. That's not fair to him, or the audience either for that matter. I wish very much in hindsight that I had stopped watching King Of The Hill when signs of the characters' psychopathy and stupidity became too blatant to ignore. But I wasted nearly fifteen seasons on those degenerate characters, and I don't think they are the animated family to aspire to. I actually find the Griffins from Family Guy more admirable than the Hills. Which should tell you something.

I mean, Brian is a better person than Peggy Hill for the single reason that he is always punished for his monstrosity, instead of having Lois or Stewie clean up his mess before anyone else finds out. Brian Griffin is probably the most loathsome current character on television. So it means something when I say Peggy is ten times worse.

Wow, that got off-topic fast.

Some funny jokes, and some alarming Bob characterization make the episode a wash. **1/2.

Family Guy "No Giggity, No Doubt"

So is Courtney a part of the show now? Because I don't approve. Not because I hate her character or thinks she makes Quagmire worse. But because they introduced the character by Quagmire wanting and trying to have sex with her. Maybe they think that's funny, and maybe for a single episode I might have thought so (but probably not). But I will get a huge amount of distaste in my mouth every time I see the character from now on. Family Guy's biggest weakness, which was especially true in the earlier 50 episodes is that they would introduce characters and concepts without thinking of the larger ramifications of them. And that goes back to the Pilot with the terrible, hard to animate character designs the show is now stuck with. Now if Courtney appears, all I can think of is that her father finds her sexy on a very level. And that's not something I should ever feel for a recurring character, especially when that character is tied to Quagmire, who already instills dubious feelings in the audience about stuff like that. I am not looking forward to whatever comes next simply because I cannot unsee the beginning of the episode.

I think Adam West deserved a bigger tribute than that, simply because Carrie Fisher got a beautiful one. But I mean him shoving aside Muriel Goldman feels right to me anyways, even if I would have preferred a funeral. That is Adam West being allowed to make me laugh one last time. I would have preferred a funeral before this episode. But that was a nice moment.

The Luke Perry tribute is unsurprising, simply because he was one of the few celebrities in the early seasons of the show to play themselves. Other celebrities like Jon Cryer and Michael Chiklis occasionally provided extra voices, but for big celebrity roles just Perry, West, and Jennifer Love-Hewitt were notable. Family Guy was not originally as celebrity driven as it is now before it was canceled. So I get why Perry, despite only appearing once, gets a tribute card while Carol Channing is ignored. The horrible truth is that Family Guy has a terrible mortality rate for guest stars. It seems like someone who voiced someone on that show dies every week. And that has to do with the fact that Seth MacFarlane likes to hire celebrities he grew up with, who are now old and in their twilight years. So he can't do tribute cards for all of them. I don't expect Chloris Leachman or Robert Loggia to get them. But since Perry was one of the only celebrity friends the show had back then, it makes sense for them to acknowledge him. P.S. He totally stole Adam West's water.

Family Guy doesn't do enough nice pop culture jokes. The Wonder Woman thing was almost infuriating in how insufferable it was. But the John Mayer thing made me smile. And I think it's all right for the show to talk about pop culture without always slamming it. And I like that Family Guy changed its mind.

Cleveland was a bananas break dancer. The staple made me both laugh and cringe.

I love Peter asking if Joe duked himself and Joe just smiling and telling him to listen to the chant. Yeah, no. Gross.

It's interesting the episode promo advertised a manatee cutaway. Fox probably needs to do that more. Because if they advertise a different unmemorable cutaway each time an episode is rerun, a viewer might think they never saw that one and be tricked into tuning in. That may sound like dirty pool. But networks are also allowed to call clip shows "All new" episodes already. Embrace the fact that Family Guy is unmemorable and confusing. More people will watch it.

I like that the thing that bugs Quagmire the most is that the theme of the prom wasn't clear. I get his frustration. I (often) obsess over meaningless crap that means nothing to anyone but me. But if you start me on a rant about some subjects, bad things will happen. But I don't need to tell anyone who reads these reviews that.

The episode was all right, but the subtext is gross, and I'm not looking forward to seeing it continued. **.

Deborah Bispo so epic and hot!!!!!

Poor Bob going to crazytown was funny, he needs a good day-off.
Teddy still drinking the ketchup coffee was funny/gross.
Linda giving Bob the day-off was sweet.
Louise/Tina's great funny lines, hahahahaha.
Poor Bob's obsession of the restaurant.
Cool seeing Mr. Calvin Fischeoder, his moment with Bob was great/funny.
Mr. Calvin Fischeoder's song was sweet.
Nice seeing Felix.
Cool seeing Mudflap, both Critter/Mudflap/Sidecar and their biker friends, best characters.
Mudflap doing a baby shower for her friend Goldie was sweet.
Linda and Louise/Tina/Gene helping Mudflap was great.
Patricia, best minor female character.
Goldie and the sexy female bikers, great minor female characters.
Bob helping Patricia was sweet, poor Patricia needs some employees though.
Steve a great boyfriend for Patricia.
Poor Goldie pregnant ready to be a mother, Linda's "being a mother" speech to Goldie was sweet/touching.
Bob realizing it and giving Patricia a day-off was sweet.
Bob's song was great.
The ending song was sweet, the show does great songs.

$enior member

I think Adam West deserved a bigger tribute than that, simply because Carrie Fisher got a beautiful one. But I mean him shoving aside Muriel Goldman feels right to me anyways, even if I would have preferred a funeral. That is Adam West being allowed to make me laugh one last time. I would have preferred a funeral before this episode. But that was a nice moment.

You never know. The season isn't over yet so that may still be in the cards.

What I liked about the episode was quite a bit of fourth-wall breaking. (Move over Olivia Jaimes. For those of you who have read the most recent "Nancy" strips. ) Peter not saying anything first because he thought it was a rerun. Then Peter mentioning the full cast from the show and then having all of them show up. Makes one wonder where the chicken was. (He didn't mention Herbert, but Herb was shown among the crowd of people.)

So I get why Perry, despite only appearing once, gets a tribute card while Carol Channing is ignored.

So is Courtney a part of the show now? Because I don't approve. Not because I hate her character or thinks she makes Quagmire worse. But because they introduced the character by Quagmire wanting and trying to have sex with her. Maybe they think that's funny, and maybe for a single episode I might have thought so (but probably not).

I think what gets me there is that she showed up out of the blue with no explanation of how he had Courtney or anything like that. (I mean I know the mother was mentioned but they never really got into that all that much.)

Of course, once again the show had a tag scene with little relevance to the plot. They could have used that time maybe explaining how Courtney was conceived or whether or not she'll be back in future eps. For now she's staying with Quag, but she could have said she needed to move on or something. I don't know. Just some thoughts.

Matt Zimmer

I think what gets me there is that she showed up out of the blue with no explanation of how he had Courtney or anything like that. (I mean I know the mother was mentioned but they never really got into that all that much.)

$enior member

BTW, something else Family Guy related that I'm curious about. I see next week's episode is "The Griffin Winter Games" which I know was an ep that aired earlier this season. Yet I've seen episode guides and TV listings that list it as a new episode. Does anyone know what's going on with that? It could be a mistake, but if it is a new ep I don't want to miss it. (Though that wouldn't be so bad since the show has gone downhill lately. But still...)

Matt Zimmer

I have my doubts. Because I doubt they'd do it unless Tiegs agreed to play herself, and I doubt she'd want to portray herself abandoning an out of wedlock daughter. But it would be the perfect excuse to push her and Quagmire together, or at least be in each others lives more than they are. But I doubt Tiegs would consent to it.

The only thing that makes me think Tiegs MIGHT do something like that is that she allowed herself to be portrayed as someone who has sex with dogs, which is crazier and worse. But abandoning a daughter is a much more visceral and real sin that Tiegs would probably balk at associating herself with.

Active Member

Am I the only one that can’t stand how incredibly grumpy Quagmire is these days? Moments like the 9.2 score and that rant before the fire reminds me why he’s the most Flanderized character in all of Family Guy next to Bonnie (ironically the namesake himself doesn’t suffer much expect he‘s more hostile towards Homer). It gets so boring seeing him lose his temper over minor details. I only laughed when he got a foul at golf and started snapping (keep in mind this was back when he was a happy-go-lucky character otherwise). Can we have more yelling moments from Patrick Warburton, please? Also I notice when Seth’s characters yell they all sound alike.

Yeah I mostly liked the gags but the plot is something could’ve been done better. The incestous implications was just wrong before the reveal of Courtney being Quagmire’s daughter. As usual, the cutaways were among the best moments in this rather disappointing episode. I also enjoyed the shout-out to all of MacFarlane’s shows where most of the characters (including the Smiths) show up in front of the Griffins house. The show’s season has a poor job at ending episodes but that Seinfeld spoof was just priceless.

$enior member

I completely agree. Quagmire used to be more of a fun-loving character, but he does seem to be a jerk lately. In fact maybe that was the point of this episode. Giving him a daughter seemed to show more of his soft side.

In general, I think the combination of the grumpy Quagmire and the jerk Brian is sort of the basis of the feud between those two characters since they seemed to get along okay in eps from earlier seasons before they ended up hating each other ever since "Jerome is the New Black." Just my thoughts on that.

$enior member

I thought I'd ask about this again. I asked before but my question seemed to be overlooked. Is this coming Sunday's episode a new one? I saw in the TV listings that it is labeled as 'new' but it's actually "The Griffin Winter Games" which already aired this season. Can someone help me figure that out?

Active Member

I have to agree with this here though this was also a problem in the early seasons of the show. Many the minors that Seth voices sound either like Brian or Tom Tucker. I sometimes think Seth's voice talents are a little over stated. He should stick to voicing Peter, Brian, and Stewie.

Active Member

I thought I'd ask about this again. I asked before but my question seemed to be overlooked. Is this coming Sunday's episode a new one? I saw in the TV listings that it is labeled as 'new' but it's actually "The Griffin Winter Games" which already aired this season. Can someone help me figure that out?

No there isn't. I think they're trying to space out episodes, they've been releasing episodes frequently this season. By the end of the month "Simpsons" will have released 19 episodes this season, that's a lot more than they've done many years. That's probably why there's no new "Bob's" on March 31st

Well-Known Member

No there isn't. I think they're trying to space out episodes, they've been releasing episodes frequently this season. By the end of the month "Simpsons" will have released 19 episodes this season, that's a lot more than they've done many years. That's probably why there's no new "Bob's" on March 31st

I think they were airing the Sunday night shows more frequently to get them out of the way for when the new series of Cosmos airs, but since that's been put on the back burner for now due to the controversy of sexual harassment claims made against Neil Degrasse Tyson, it lookslike they'll have to space out the rest of the season's episodes on until May.